


Comfort

by puzzlemon



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Drabble, During Canon, Finished, Fluff, M/M, Monarchshipping - Freeform, One-Shot, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23889814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puzzlemon/pseuds/puzzlemon
Summary: The spirit roams the endless halls of his soul room, lonely and cold as they are, for all eternity. He would give everything for just a glimpse on something that could be a memory but he never finds one. There’s only darkness,(Alternative title: “How canon can monarchshipping ever be? - A case study“)
Relationships: Atem/Yami Yuugi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	Comfort

_ Click. Click. _

He wanders the cryptic halls as he has many times before. He knows them. He has seen every room there is in his soul. He knows himself well, and yet he doesn’t. Because he has no memories. 

No memories of the time before Yugi. There is just darkness, a gaping abyss where the sun should shine. Sun, occasionally clouded by rain, but always returning to the sky. He doesn’t know the sun, doesn’t know it’s warmth for it is cold in his soul room. 

There is no breeze but he swears he feels one, making him shiver whenever his heart grows heavy at the thought of never knowing. He just is. There is no story to his origin, and there is no past to his present.

He is the spirit residing in the millenium puzzle and he will forever be bound to it and the thought covers him like a warm blanket and he welcomes it because he is freezing, wandering deep within the reaches of his own heart.

_ Click. Click. _

* * *

_ Thumb. _

He smiles at the door that Yugi has just left him through. He shared with him his decision to pursue his memories, and Yugi supported him, like he supports everything he does. 

Yugi is his everything, the spirit muses, hoping to keep the darkness away. Not that it helps anything, because the darkness always finds him. The darkness is a part of him just as much as he is a part of this puzzle. 

But he not always was, and the knowledge wraps around him like strong arms, giving him the anchor that he so needs because his partner has left as he always will. As he always should. 

He leans into the darkness that succumbs him. It feels nice to know that there once was something. That he was not always nothing. 

For a moment he feels like there is a person behind him, but then there isn’t and he stumbles, falling backwards.

_ Thumb. _

* * *

_  
Badump. Badump. _

He remembers his heart beating quickly, still tense with the excitement of the day. In his hand he holds the red dragon, looking it up and down as he strolls the endless maze to calm himself. It is only a matter of time until he will know. Finally find the memories that belong to him and him alone.

He is almost there, he thinks and it sparks happiness within him and warms the cold halls that he has grown so accustomed to. He flips the card over and lets it disappear into nothing as everything in his soul room can. Beside himself. And beside the darkness.

The darkness is still with him, but it doesn’t threaten him and it doesn’t threaten Yugi, so there is no need to worry anymore. In fact he has grown quite fond of it. Of the warmth and comfort it provides whenever he feels loneliest, whenever he feels most lost, whenever he feels emptiest. 

Today too, it creeps up on him, nonthreatening, a bit shy rather. Wondering maybe, if it is alright to come out now, if he accepts it within his heart. Because this is his heart. His heart that he knows well and his heart that makes him who he is.

He is a person, all of his own, no spirit and not bound to the puzzle forever. And the darkness nods to him, he thinks then, and stretches his hand out, only to feel warm fingers intertwine with his.

_ Badump. Badump. _

* * *

_ “Forever.” _

Yugi smiles at him, before he leaves again. It is not long now, Atem knows and he smiles too, knowing that he will soon find rest after all this time. He looks around and sees the dark shadow come into view. The darkness is still with him but it has a name now. A name that he mayhaps stole from it when he found his memories, but a name nonetheless.

“Atem,“ he speaks his own and the shadow‘s name. For the shadow is him, or is what he was before he lost himself. He smiles and the shadow smiles back, coming closer and offering his wavering hand, like he has so many times before, reminding Atem that he is never alone, that even the puzzle can be a place of warmth. 

A welcoming home, not a maze. A palace, not a prison. A bonfire, not a tundra. 

Atem steps closer to the shadow, his pale skin that is not his but Yugi‘s leaning against the dark one that will become his. He sees it now, the tan skin below the floundering darkness that slowly becomes whole again, and he’s happy for the shadow, happy for himself, because he no longer lives in complete darkness. There is a light now.

He closes his eyes and enjoys the silent company the shadow offers him. A thought crosses his mind, and it makes him smile so he speaks it. “We will always be together.” The shadow turns to him then, and he knows he is dreaming when he hears

_ “Forever.” _

* * *

_  
“Goodbye!“ _

Atem stretches out his arm as he walks, the well wishes of all his companions resounding behind him. He closes his eyes and gives them a final thumbs up before stepping into the bright light finally going to where he belongs.

Blinded by the light, he expects the first thing to see after opening his eyes to be his palace, the Egyptian sand perhaps or the Nile, but it is none of these things. Instead it is the shadow, or himself, who stands opposite him, dark skin in stark contrast to the white nothingness surrounding them. 

Atem tilts his head but he doesn’t mind the presence of the other. He has never minded, in fact he has grown to care for it, finding comfort in what he received from him so many times before, when he felt lonely, weak or empty, reminding him that he never was.

“You are whole now,” Atem states, watching as the other inspects himself. There are no lingering shadows around him, he is just himself now, dark skin, red eyes and maroon hair.

The other nods, “It seems I am.” And while he has not heard it often, Atem recalls the voice from what he thought were dreams, but he now realises they were not. He is surprised that they do not sound the same though, for the other‘s voice seems so much softer, afraid even.

Atem smiles softly, stepping closer to the other who looks up at him with round and curious eyes that remind Atem of his partner. He takes the other‘s right hand into both of his and holds it to his chest, letting the shadow try the heartbeat that Atem finally feels in his chest. “I am too now. After such a long time, finally I am whole as well.”

The other nods again, carefully opening his hand and pressing his palm to Atem’s chest. He feels the soft vibrations of a heartbeat, though he wonders if maybe he’s just imagining it for a heartbeat could never be that strong. Not that he knows, for he doesn’t have one. “You are alive,” he whispers and his dark eyes wander up to meet Atem’s.

“I am,” Atem confirms as he tugs the other’s hand off his chest, watching soft protest in the form of a pout appear on the other’s face and his heart is filled with pain at the sight, though his next action immediately brings the curious glance of the other back, alongside a small dusty blush, because Atem intertwines their fingers. 

“Ate,” the other breaths, his being filled with nothing but warmth and comfort at what Atem is offering him. This is their last meeting, he knows this, and he is sure that Atem knows this. Perhaps, he muses it is also their first meeting and the thought brings a smile to his face, that is quickly answered.

“Yes?” Atem’s head tilts ever so slightly in question but he knows the answer. This is their goodbye, and while the thought makes a heavy weight settle deep in his stomach, it also gives way to a new feeling, curiosity and wonder for what lies ahead, right behind the white nothingness that is allowing them to meet one last time, making him eternally grateful.

“It has been so long.” The other doesn’t know what else to say without bearing all of his heart to be broken. His hand trembles ever so slightly as he watches how Atem’s eyes soften and he can read the fondness from them, deepening the hot feeling on his cheeks.

“But it hasn’t been enough,” Atem supplies and he brings tan fingers to his lips, not breaking eye contact between them, savoring every little bit of contact that they can share during this fleeting moment until they will part forever. The warm skin feels rough against his mouth and he enjoys the wide eyes of the other more than anything else.

“What is ever enough?” The question comes from the other without thought, because neither of them knew, he was sure of it. Once it has been enough for Atem to regain his memories and for the other to simply watch, but now they wish for more. More words to exchange. More time together perhaps. The other doesn’t know. He only knows Atem’s warm breath ghosting over his skin being the first thing he ever feels. 

“What is indeed,” Atem chuckles and he looks deeply into red eyes that look back with just as much interest, worried maybe about what would happen to them, but also ready, Atem mused. The thought occurs to Atem then, because he is truly ready as well, ready to speak the word and part them forever.

But it is not Atem that speaks it, because before he can, he feels the softest touch brush along his lips. The sound that only gets mouthed against them reverberates in his being when white nothingness turns into hot sands and a clear blue sky. 

Atem is alone, the ghost of a touch still tickling in the depths of himself when he smiles up at the Egyptian sky of his past, his present and his future.

_ “Goodbye.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this short drabble that came about because it was 12 am and I was feeling experimental.
> 
> It took me a while to get back to it, but now it’s finished, and I hope you enjoyed. ❤️


End file.
